No more Kates? The baby names at risk of going extinct

A closeup of a baby’s head and arms while a mother holds a bottle of baby formula up to the baby’s mouth to feed. — Some baby names are going extinct.

My graduating class had a dozen Emilys and probably even more Jakes. The Jakes and Emilys were so common, we had to add a last initial to their name to tell them apart, a letter that has a way of sticking with them through high school. Luckily for myself, I never had to go by Margaret D. during elementary school, because most women who share my name happen to be twice my age.

Some names (like Jake) are trendy, and others seem to dominate the popularity rankings for decades. My mom is always shocked there is no one named “Doug” or “Steve” my age, because apparently no one uses these names anymore — because names fall out of use, and they can even go extinct.

The Baby Center reported which baby names are falling out of favor in 2023, and which are at risk of going extinct. For example, “K” names are going out of style — Khalid, Kyle and Kobe all fell significantly between 2021 and 2022.

Here is a look at what names fell so much in use they are at risk of going extinct, according to the Baby Center.